(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) When you're setting your goal, again, you don't have to know exactly how you're going to get there, but just trust that once you declare it and write it down, you're going to start getting ideas. The universe is going to start bringing you opportunities. And when they come to you, then just say, thanks universe and take them. Don't ignore them. Don't sit on your butt and not do anything.
You have to work in tandem with the universe. It's a dance. You declare what you want. The universe is like, Oh, okay, that's what you want. Here are some things you could do. And then you tune in and decide what feels right, what actions to take, what things to do. And it's this like dance that you're doing with the universe. Hi everybody. Welcome back to rainbows are circles today. We're exploring the power of goal setting.
So I'm currently reading this book called the success principles by Jack Canfield, who is a co-creator of the chicken soup for the soul books. If you haven't read them, they're delightful and heartwarming, and you should definitely check them out. So the success principles is a very influential book about the principles that he has used to create success in all areas of his life, from business to relationships to his dream home.
One of the principles I found most intriguing is that of setting goals. So goal setting is important because when we set a goal, we are declaring, declaring to the universe what we want. Um, Jack Canfield says in the book, the indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this decide what you want.
He explains that clarity is key and that when we set very clear specific goals, we activate our brains, reticular activating system, which helps us to notice people, opportunities, and resources that align with our desires. So in other words, your brain starts working like a filter, bringing the things that matter the most to your attention. So we can actually do a little exercise to demonstrate this.
Take a moment and just look around the room that you're in or look around outside, wherever you are and just take in everything that you're seeing and noticing. And then if it's safe, if you're not driving or something, close your eyes. And now I want you to remember all the things that you saw that were red. How many things can you think of that were red?
Okay. Now open your eyes and look around the room again and notice all of the things that are red, that you probably didn't see that first time. I want you to take them in. Now take in everything that you saw that was red and now close your eyes and think about all the things that you saw that were red. Okay. And now open your eyes and compare the first to the second.
Okay. How many things did you notice that were red when you weren't looking for them compared to when you were actively looking for them? Probably a lot more the second time, right? And that's because your brain was looking for things that were red. And so this is really the same thing when you're setting a goal. When you're really clear on what you want, your brain starts looking for things and it's not even necessarily a conscious thing. Like this is kind of happening in the background.
It can be subconscious and conscious, but your brain starts to look for the things that align with what you want and that will help you to get to where you want to go. Okay. So that is one of the really important things to know about, like why it's so important to set goals and get really clear on them. Okay. It's like you're, you're putting it out there and your brain already starts looking for them. Okay. So Jack Canfield also talks about the importance of writing down your goals.
Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are significantly more likely to achieve them. He recommends stating your goals in the present tense as if they've already happened. So for example, I'm so happy and grateful now that I have a thriving business that brings in $20,000 a month while making a positive impact. So saying something like this reinforces your belief and programs your subconscious mind to take action.
He also talks about setting goals that stretch you beyond your comfort zone. So big goals force you to grow, develop new skills, and become the kind of person who can achieve them. The keys to believe that your goals are possible, even if you don't yet know how you're going to achieve them. So one of the exercises he shares in the book is to write down 101 goals. And it seems like a lot, but give it a try. It will really stretch your mind to think of that many things that you want.
I actually started doing it this morning and so far I only have 30 goals. Um, so I'm going to have to like sit down and spend more time with it this week, but I found it really surprising how much fun it was to think about my goals and what I want, even though initially it was a little bit difficult to allow myself to like really think big and think of big goals and think of big things that I want.
Um, for example, I'd love to have a home in a tropical location one day, but saying that out loud feels really scary. It feels like kind of very far away. I don't know how or when that will happen, but declaring that and just saying it and writing it down felt very powerful. And I know that even though right now it doesn't feel like it's going to happen anytime super soon, I felt really excited when I was doing it.
And I know that as I continue to work with these goals and implement other things like affirmations, um, visualization, um, working with improving what I believe is possible for myself, that this goal will become closer and closer and closer and that I will achieve it one day. So don't get hung up on how things are going to happen. Once you declare things and say them out loud and your brain starts looking for them, the universe like starts to magnetize those things to you.
And you kind of just have to let go and trust to a certain extent that the universe is on your side and it's going to start bringing you things that align with your goals. Okay. So as you do this exercise, write down your 101 goals, do not limit yourself, really allow yourself to think big. And yes, it might feel a little scary, but it also feels fun and exciting. So there's this really great quote, um, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
And she says, if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough. So I wanted to share a goal that I achieved with you. Um, this happened several years ago and, um, it was a really big deal for me because until this time, I guess I really didn't think that it was going to be possible for me to achieve this goal. Um, but a few years ago, I went to Tahiti with my dance group. I've been doing Polynesian dance since I was like 12 years old.
And we went to Tahiti to perform and some of us competed in the solo competition. And I had just finished a, um, I had just attended, uh, I can't think of his name, Tony Robbins. One of his seminars, I think it was unleashed the power within, it was like a two or three day experience. And, um, it was like a live in -person event and it was really powerful in, if you don't know Tony Robbins, he's all about like, you know, tapping into your unlimited power, building confidence.
He's a motivational speaker, you know, he's all about like living your potential and like breaking through the limits that hold you back. And so I had just come off of this like high, this like three day high with him. And I set this goal of like wanting to win the solo competition in my category. And so I declared this goal and I kept it in my mind. I wrote it down. And then I thought about the things that I would want to do.
And that would need to do, I would need to do in order to like be in a state and in a position and a good enough dancer where I could achieve this goal. So I didn't just like declare the goal and then sit around. I kind of declared it. And then over the next few weeks, I thought about things to do that would help me to achieve this goal. So I started dancing and practicing every single morning and I would just do like five to 10 minutes every single morning.
And I would freestyle and I would just come up with different, yeah, different little dance movements and sequences that I could do. I would just, I would just kind of practice my drills and practice my basic skills and then do a little bit of freestyle. And I did this every single day for, I don't remember, like two or three months. And then that helped a lot. And then when we were in Tahiti, I started to think about like, okay, what are the judges looking for?
And I looked at the score sheets of like how much they attribute to their different categories when they're judging. And so there were a lot of points that were given to technique, creativity. But there were also like points that I feel like a lot of people just kind of gave away. So there were points that were given to entrance and exit and then also stage presence and costume.
And I realized like when I was looking at dancers, a lot of people would be really good technically and have beautiful costumes and be really creative, but they wouldn't necessarily do a lot to have an impressive intro and like, not outro, but like entrance and exit.
And so not only was I practicing like my technique and my creativity for those three months every morning when I would wake up and my drills, but I started to think about creative ways that I could stand out when I was doing my entrance and exit. So long story short, I ended up going to Tahiti, placing second in my category out of like 35 women.
And I was just like, I was kind of, you know, in a way I was surprised, but in a way I wasn't surprised because I knew I had done so much to get to that point. And it was really eyeopening for me because had I not set that goal and had I not started to like, you know, think about things that, um, I could do to like bring myself closer to that goal, I definitely wouldn't have won second place. I would have probably not placed at all.
And, um, another thing that I did was I visualized what I was going to look like. And I visualized watching myself from like the audience perspective and the judge's perspective and like, how did I hold myself? How graceful was I? How was my stage presence? And like seeing myself from their eyes helped me to, um, emulate what I was seeing. So all of those things together, they all started with me setting the goal and getting clear on my goal in the first place and writing it down.
And I didn't, you know, when I set the goal, I didn't exactly know how it was going to happen, but over the course of the next few weeks and months, I started to get ideas of what I was going to do and how I was going to get there. So when you're setting your goal, again, you don't have to know exactly how you're going to get there, but just trust that once you declare it and write it down, you're going to start getting ideas. The universe is going to start bringing you opportunities.
And when they come to you, then just say, thanks universe and take them. Don't ignore them. Don't sit on your butt and not do anything. You have to work in tandem with the universe. It's a dance. You declare what you want. The universe is like, Oh, okay. That's what you want. Here are some things you could do. And then you tune in and decide what feels right, what actions to take, what things to do. And it's this like dance that you're doing with the universe. Okay. So I hope that was helpful.
Um, I really encourage you to write down 101 goals. You don't have to do it in one sitting. Uh, it might take a little while, but don't limit yourself, have fun, get excited, and just know that the things that you want, they're meant for you. And they are there for you to inspire you to new levels, to inspire you to become even more amazing than you already are. And, um, you wouldn't have the dreams and the goals that you have if you weren't capable of achieving them.
So just remember that, keep that in mind, write down your goals, um, and read the success principles. If you feel inspired by this episode, it's really good. I'm still in the process of reading it right now, but, um, I'm really loving it and I'll continue to share some of the things that I'm learning. So until next time, have a lot of fun with this and don't limit yourself. Thanks for tuning in everyone.
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